Distributor for internal combustion engines with adjustable spring



Jan. 19, 1965 K. STRAUB 3,166,646

DISTRIBUTOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES WITH ADJUSTABLE SPRING Filed Dec. 11, 1962 A k a I R m fi m z N 5 J NM/ w Z J a W r a m 4 b 2 m .0 W. w... 3 M55105: 1 7i?! for turning movement.

United States Patent 6 Claims 61. 200-41 The present invention relates to distributors for internal combustion engines.

As is well known, such distributors conventionally include an interruptor plate which is turnable within the housing of the distributor and which has its' position determined by the extent of partial vacuum in the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine. Conventionally, such a distributor plate is acted upon by a spring which urges it to turn in a given direction in the distributor housing.

In order to provide for the best possible operation of an internal combustion engine, it is required to adapt as closely as possible the timing of the ignition in the cylinders of the internal combustion engine with the constantly changing load on the engine. For this purpose there have already been provided various devices which are capable of adjusting the timing of the ignition, and the most common of these devices operate either from a centrifugal governor or from the partial vacuum in the intake manifold of the engine or from both of these devices.

Where the position of the interruptor plate is controlled solely by the partial vacuum in the intake manifold, it is conventional to provide in the distributor housing a spring which urges the interrupter plate in a given direction, and this spring may conventionally take the form of an elongated coil spring connected to the interruptor plate so as to urge it to turn in a given directionand also connected with an adjusting screw accessible at the exterior of the housing and, for example, passing through the wall of the distributor housing. The space within the distributor housing is extremely limited 'and also the space in which the entire distributor may be accommodated is extremely limited, so that such an arrange" ment where an elongated coil spring is connected to the interruptor plate and isadjustabl-e from the exterior of the housing'provides great difiiculties with respect to the mounting of the parts in the available space and in addition it is difiicult to adjust such a construction so as to provide the desired influence on the distributor. Also, this known construction is quite expensive.

It is accordingly-a primary object of the present invention to provide a distributor construction which will avoid the above drawbacks.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a distributor with an extremely compact and simple structure for influencing the position of the interr'uptor plate Within the distributor housing. Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure of this type which can. be easily adjusted and which also is' quite inexpensive while at the same time being very reliable in operation.

With the above objects in view theinvention includes, in a distributor for an internal combustion engine, a distributor housing having a portion which is stationary with respect to the housing. An interruptor plate is located inthe distributor housing and carries a projection. A pivotpinis carried by the housing and extends through an opening-"of the interruptor plate to guide the latter In accordance with the present invention, a spring is carried by this pivot pin and has a pair pf legs one of which engages the above-mentioned.-

. ,rod 18 is connected at its end which is distant from the ice portion of the housing and the other of which engages the projection of the interruptor plate to urge this projection away from the above-mentioned portion of the housingsothat the spring will urge the interruptor plate to turn in a given direction in the housing. .This structure of theinvention is extremely simple while at the same time being very compact so that it can be very.

easily accommodated within the'interruptor housing.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set'forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partly diagrammatic plan view of a distributor provided with the structure of the invention, the cover of the distributor being removed sothat the interior thereof is visible in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along y tively thick boss portion 10' which carries the pivot 12,

as is shown most clearly in FIG. 2, and the opening ofthe interruptor plate 11 which receives the pivot pin 12 is sprayed with nylon so as to be provided with a nylon sleeve, and this nylon sleeve has a flange portion 11 which directly engages the boss 10, as is also shown most clearly in FIG. 2.

1n the illustrated position of the parts, the interrupter plate 11 is held in the illustrated position by a spring which may, for example, be made of steel wire having a diameter of 1.5 mm. The spring has a pair of legs 13 and 14, and the leg 13 engages an abutment portion of (the housing 10, this housing portion being in the form of a rib which is integral with the side wall of the housing 10 and located in the interior thereof. The rib of the housing 10 is formed with an elongated depression 15 which receives the leg 13 of the spring. The other leg 14 of the spring engages a projection 16 which is carried by the interruptor plate 11, and the legs 13 and '14 tend to move apart from each other so that they urge the pro jection 16 away from the wall portion of the housing engage'd by the leg13, and thus the spring which is carried by the pivot pin 12 urges the interrupter plate 11 to turn v in a clockwise direction about the pin 12, as viewed in FIG. 1. The projection 15 is in the form of an adjusting pin having a portion 16' turnably connected to the plate 11 and the turning axis of the pin 16iseccentric with respect to the central axis thereof so that the pin or projection 16 is eccentrically mounted and thus turning of the pin 16 Willadjust the spring by moving the leg 14 toward or away from" the leg 13. In the illustrated example the legs 13 and 14 are integral with a single convolution 17 which surrounds the pivot pin 12, and in accordance with the invention the spring has at least one convolution extending around the pivot pin 12 and from which the legs 13 and 14 project. I i

As is apparent from the above description and the V drawings the interruptor plate 11 will be held by the spring 13, 14, 17 in the illustrated position as long as it is not moved in one direction or the other by an elongated connecting rod 18 which is pivotally connected at 19 to the interruptor plate 11. This elongated connecting Patented Jan. 19, 1%65 The floor of the distributor housing pivot 19 to a diaphragm located within the housing 20 and dividingtthe latter into a pair of chambers in one of which the connecting rod 18 is located. The other chamber on the other side of the diaphragm communicates through a conduit 20 and aconnecting pipe 20 with the intake manifold of the engine, so that as the partial vacuum in the intake manifold changes the diaphragm in the housing 20 will move so as to move the connecting rod 18 in a manner very well known in the art, and thus the plate 11 will be turned about the pin 12 in one direction or the other to have its angular position determined by the extent of partial vacuum in the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine.

' The interrupter plate 11 carries an interrupting mechanism which includes an interruptor lever 23 turnable about a pivot pin 22 carried by the plate 11 and carrying the interruptor contact 24 which cooperates with a secnd contact 26 carried by a contact-carrier 25. A rotary shaft 27, driven in a well known manner from the engine itself, carries the cam 28 whose camming portions engage a projection 29 carried by the interruptor lever 23, so that as the cam 28 turns with the 'shaftr27 the camming portions will cooperate with the projection 29 to turn the lever 23 in one direction to separate the contact 24 from the contact 26 and then to permit the lever 23 to return to the position where the contact 24 engages the contact 26. A spring 30 cooperates with the lever 23 to urge it in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, about the pin '22, so that the spring 30 acts on the lever 23 for urging the contact 24 into engagement with the contact 26, and as each camming portion of the through a rubber sleeve 32 so as to be insulated from the wall of the housing 10.

As. a result of the above-described structure of the invention which includes the spring 13, M, 17, it is possible to adapt the timing of the ignition to widely different, operating requirements of different internal combustion engines in the simplest possible way, as by turning the pin 16 as well as by choosing a wire spring of proper diameter and by providing a given number of coils which surround the pin 12. Moreover, all of these requirements are satisfied with a structure which requires an extremely small amount of space, and the fact that the structureof the invention may be accommodated in an extremely smallspace is of great significance-in distributors of the type described above and shown in the drawing. j

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of distributors differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described asembodied in adjustable distributors, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without depart-l ing inany way from the spirit .of the present invention.

. Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications Without omittingfeatures that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspectsofthis invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalenceof thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a distributor for an internal combustion engine,

in combination, a distributor housing; first abutment means on said distributor housing; an interruptor plate n said housing; second abutment means carried by said in terruptor plate; a pivot pin carried by said housing and extending through an opening of said plate to guide the latter for turning movement in said housing; and a spring carried by said pivot pin and having a pair of legs one of which engages said first abutment means of said'housing and the other of which engages said second abutment means on said plate for urging said projection away from i in combination, a distributor housing having an abutment 7 portion; an interrupter plate in said housing; a pivot pin carried by said housing and extending through an open.-

ing of said plate to guide the latter for turning movement in said housingj a pin carried by said plate turnably about an axis parallel to said pivot pin and having a projection arranged eccentrically with respect to said axis; and a wire spring carriedby said pivot pin and having a pair of legs one of which engages said portion of said housing and the other of which engages said projection of said pin for-urging said projection away from said portion of said housing so as to'urge said plate to turn in a given direction with respect to said pivot pin.

3. in a distributor for an internal combustion engine, in combination, a distributor housing having an abutment portion which is stationary with respect tosaid housing;

an interruptor plate located in said housing; a pivot pin carried by said housing and, extending through an opening of said plate to guide the latter for turning ,movement; a pin carried by said plate turnably about an axis parallel to said pivot pin and having a projection arranged eccentrically with respect to said axis; and a spring carried by ,said pivot pin and having a pair of legs one of which engages said portion of said housing and the other of whichengages said projection of said pin to urge said projection away from said portion of said housing so that said spring urges said plate to turn in a given direction with respect to said pivot pin, said spring having at least one convolution surrounding said pivot pin.

4. In a distributor for an internal combustion engine, in cornbmation, a distributor housing having a wall portion; an interruptor plate locatedin' saidhousing; a pivot pin carried by said housing and extending through an opening of said plate to guide the latter for turning movement; a pin carried by said plate turnably about an axis parallel to said pivot pin and having a projection arranged eocentrically with respectto said axis; and a spring carried by said pivot pin and having a pair of legs one of whichengages said wall portion of said housing and the other of which engages said projection of said pin for urging said projection away from said portion of said housing so that said spring urgessaid plate to turn in a given direction with respect to said pivot pin,

5. In a distributoras recited in claim 4, said wall portion of said housing being formed with a depression.

which receivessaidone leg of said spring.

6. in a distributor for an internal combustion engine,

-in combination, a distributor housing having a wall carrying in the interior of said housing a rib which is formed with a depression; an interrupter plate located in said.

housing; a pivot pin carried by said housing and extendingthrough an opening of said plate to guide the latter for turning movement; a. pin carried by said plate turn-f ably about an axis parallel to said pivot pin and having a projection arranged eccentrically with respect to said 5 t 6 axis; and a wire spring coiled about said pivot pin and References Cited by the Examiner having a pair of legs one of which is received in said de- UNITED STATES PATENTS pression and the other of which engages said projection to urge the latter away from said rib so that said spring ggglg q a urges said plate to turn in a given direction with respect 5 I 9 ewls et to sa pivot pin- BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A DISTRIBUTOR FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, IN COMBINATION, A DISTRIBUTOR HOUSING; FIRST ABUTMENT MEANS ON SAID DISTRIBUTOR HOUSING; AN INTERRUPTER PLATE IN SAID HOUSING; SECOND ABUTMENT MEANS CARRIED BY SAID INTERRUPTOR PLATE; A PIVOT PIN CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND EXTENDING THROUGH AN OPENING OF SAID PLATE TO GUIDE THE LATTER FOR TURNING MOVEMENT IN SAID HOUSING; AND A SPRING CARRIED BY SAID PIVOT PIN AND HAVING A PAIR OF LEGS ONE OF WHICH ENGAGES SAID FIRST ABUTMENT MEANS OF SAID HOUSING AND THE OTHER OF WHICH ENGAGES SAID SECOND ABUTMENT MEANS ON SAID PLATE FOR URGING SAID PROJECTION AWAY FROM SAID PORTION OF SAID HOUSING, SO THAT SAID SPRING URGES SAID PLATE TO TURN IN A GIVEN DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SAID PIN, ONE OF SAID ABUTMENT MEANS BEING ADJUSTABLE IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE RESPECTIVE LEG TO ADJUST THE FORCE WITH WHICH SAID SPRING URGES SAID PLATE TO TURN IN SAID DIRECTION. 